In the digital age, companies must take their message directly to the masses.
Cannabis companies, especially. Shut out of many traditional forms of advertising, brands are relying on social media and influencers to fill the void.
These 10 influencers come from every conceivable background, from medical patients and advocates to former models and even an accountant. The one thing they have in common? They never set out to become influencers. They were simply (and bravely) sharing their passion. As Michigan medical patient @HappyTokes‘s bio declares: “Under the influence; Over the stereotype.” And Washington-based advocate @ImCannabess reveals, “I never in a million years thought I would be in this position, doing what I’m doing, putting bags of weed pictures on my LinkedIn profile for all people to see. My super-Catholic mom is telling people at church about it. My grandmas are using topicals. It’s amazing.” Believe the hype. See who’s behind all the SHARES and LIKES.
1. @ImCannabess
94.3K Followers
Founder of @BlaiseCreative
How did you end up in the cannabis industry? “I started a political nonprofit. It was just single issue, to educate millennials about the national debt and advocate for our generation. You know, we’re 21 trillion in debt. Why is no one talking about this? Social Security is going to be depleted by 2034 per the administration’s own reports. Why is there no one talking about this? So long story short, I had an opportunity in DC, and one of my good girlfriends from college owned a 502 grow. And I jokingly said, I’m moving to Washington, DC in a month unless you know anyone in the cannabis industry that can make me a better offer. And she did. I’m from Washington State. And everyone likes pot more than politics. I like Washington State more than DC. Pot is very political, you know, in terms of just economic revenue and job creation. Those are things that really aligned with my values and things I’m passionate about. So the answer was obvious.”
2. @Trippy.Treez
188K followers
Former accountant
Big challenge: “I’m young. I’m a woman. So people try to take advantage of you a lot of times from a business standpoint. Like being on a panel or being in a business meeting, with multiple men that are twice your age trying to tell you what to do and how much they want to pay you. You have to stand up against them, so that’s kind of my biggest thing.”
Bigger challenge: “As far as influencer brand marketing, the biggest thing would be just the platforms that we’re trying to advertise on. We don’t have any access to Google ads, or Google in general, or Facebook, really. So we’re limited to barely even Instagram or YouTube. Even then, we’re still getting deleted. We’re just trying to somehow get in there. You know, we can’t do billboards, we can’t do TV ads, so we’re just trying to figure it out and not get shut down at the end of the day, financially and physically, online. Hopefully it’ll change soon.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwNBqh-B8S6/
3. @koala.puffss
554K followers
Known for: hilarious videos
Secret of her success: “The most important strategy for growing your social media presence is having a consistent theme or mission. The content has to feel genuine. With authenticity, the audience you attract will be organic and loyal. I’m still shocked every day by the amazing community that has built around me. Whenever I can, I try to respond individually to followers who reach out, because engaging with your audience plays such a big role. Through their comments and feedback, they let you know what they want to see, and you can use that intel to help you create new content. My followers are from all over the world, and it’s inspiring to see all the pictures and videos of the ways people smoke in Russia, Chile, Brazil, Canada, etc. But that also shows me I need to make sure a diverse audience is able to relate to my videos.”
4. @happytokes
75K Followers
Community manager for @CannaSmack
Tell us about @happytokestribe: “The HappyTokesTribe is technically anyone who supports myself and one another, but is also a curated community in which all loving souls are welcome. Though differing viewpoints are encouraged to be expressed respectfully, for the sake of discussion and insight, I quickly decline troll-like or hateful interactions by blocking those accounts. I’m proud to have created a safe place on social media where people are comfortable sharing personal details.”
5. @D.M.Blunted
4K followers
Advocate and blogger
What are you advocating for? “I’m pretty much advocating for better representation in cannabis. I advocate for safer access, and to make just cannabis a safer space for its consumers and for people that are trying to make businesses in it because I know the effects of the war on drugs. I’ve seen it, and I know that I deserve to have a space in cannabis just as my white counterpart so that’s pretty much what I’m advocating for. And also obviously the decriminalization of marijuana because without that, you know, there’s no need for legalization.”
6. @ThatHighCouple
23K Followers
Also known as Alice & Clark
How important is professional quality video? “One of the biggest pitfalls for content creation is getting held up on the idea that you have to look as good as your competitor. As long as you’re committed, authentic and consistent, people are not going to pay attention as much to the quality as to the personality in your videos. So in short, if you have a smartphone in your pocket, you have all the gear you need to launch a successful YouTube and Instagram career.”
7. @SheFliesHigh
32K Followers
Model and fitness enthusiast
Mantra: “I’m just trying to break the stigma of the lazy stoner or that all people who medicate are lazy and we don’t get things done. You can live a life and you can still find work and you don’t have to worry about what anybody else thinks.”
What works best? “Sometimes a lot of people will react to my weed posts. But they also react when I’m just talking about anxiety or emotions, people really relate to that. It surprised me. You have to stay true to yourself, because your vibe attracts your tribe.”
8. @Killa.Krissy
73K Followers
Model
How do you come up with the ideas for your posts? “It’s pretty much just me being silly. If I come up with a little idea overnight, I write it down and then the next day I try to make it happen. It’s pretty much all quick last-minute little things. It works out well. The weed video game guy – I literally came up with that 5 minutes before it was created. So that’s just pretty much just off the top of my head. My audience likes the funny ones a lot better. I can tell my audience likes me for my humor more than for my looks. So I try to play off both of them.”
What’s the best feedback you’ve received? “When people are like, ‘Oh my gosh, look at this, this girl’s so funny. Have you seen this girl’s posts? They’re hilarious.’ And they’ll be tagging a lot of people. That’s usually the best response that I see. People wanting to share posts with their friends.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf1OSnAnUYi/http://
9. @pothead.princess
150K Followers
Budtender
How did you get started? “I was living in Amsterdam, and I just started posting. I’d go to different coffee shops, get weed. I’d pack my bong and at first I wasn’t able to take big rips, so I was kind of faking the cloud, I was faking it for the gram (laughs). But then I just started smoking more and more and getting the hang of it and getting better at doing my videos. And then I had companies asking, ‘Can we send you our products?’ And I just started promoting different companies’ products from there. I think just being in Amsterdam, that really helped, because people were like, ‘You’re not in America, that’s pretty cool.'”
What makes you unfollow someone? “I’m really into learning with the marijuana industry. So if I didn’t feel like I was getting some information with someone’s posts. So if you’re just like posting half-naked photos and not at least giving me some education with it I’ll unfollow you. Or if there’s a lot of hate going on. I’m not into that. I love drama-free.”
10. @themommyjane
13K Followers
Mom and medical patient
How would you describe your niche? “I appeal to a lot of mothers, being The Mommy Jane. But I do have men in the mix. They’re from all over the world, from The Philippines to Argentina to the UK. My goal is to be even more worldwide and to reach more people who maybe want an alternative to their nightly routine. Maybe they’re sick of, you know, the way they feel after they drink a whole bottle of Merlot and try and wake up in the morning. It’s really hard to parent. I was there. I was I was heavily into wine abuse and combining that with anti-anxiety medication, antidepressant medications, just a terrible combination. So, I wasn’t a very healthy version of myself. And how can you be the best mom you want to be if you’re not taking care of yourself, both mentally and physically? So it was really important for me to change my lifestyle. And once I realized that I could influence others, it just really took off, you know.”
